Page 48 of Outlaw Ridge: Griff
“I don’t know exactly who,” Holly said, sounding a little embarrassed. “They said they were from the feed store, but I didn’t recognize the voice. The call came in about an hour ago.”
Griff’s jaw tightened. That was the opening. Whoever ransacked Catherine’s office had used that exact window of time—when Holly was out of sight—to get in. The jimmied marks on the lock confirmed it.
Which meant the call about the puppy had been a setup. A distraction.
And whoever placed it had known Catherine would be gone. Had known the timing.
He looked back toward the trashed office. Pulling Catherine out, killing her, and tearing through this space—all within two hours?
It was a hell of a lot to orchestrate.
But someone had.
Griff stepped back into Catherine’s office, pausing as he caught sight of Lily still crouched by the credenza. Papers were spread in careful layers around her, the chaos of the room now shaped into something more intentional.
He was about to speak, to tell her what Holly had revealed about the phone call and the timing, but Lily held up a folder.
“Found something,” she said, standing. Her expression was tight, unreadable, but her eyes told him everything. This wasn’t just another business file.
Griff moved to her side as she handed over several printed documents. Bank transfers, recurring monthly payments pulled from Catherine’s personal account. The name on the receiving line stopped him cold.
Rhett Hale.
He flipped through the pages, his pulse slowing. Fifteen years’ worth of payments.
Every month.
Two thousand dollars.
All marked under vague descriptors, such as consulting, research, private advisory. But there was no record of Rhett ever working for Catherine. No affiliation with Langston Holdings.
Lily’s voice was low. “The first payment was dated less than a month after Hannah’s murder.”
Griff stared at the pages. “She was paying him.”
“To stay quiet,” Lily said. “Or to keep a story straight. Maybe both.”
Griff looked up at her, the folder heavy in his hands.
“Fifteen years,” he said. “That’s not hush money. That’scontrol.”
And maybe Catherine had kept Rhett on a leash all this time.
Until someone cut the chain.
Yeah, they needed to have a chat with Rhett right now.
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Chapter Eleven
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Griff’s house was quiet when they stepped inside, the kind of deep, heavy silence that wrapped around Lily’s bones and reminded her just how long the day had been.
He shut the door behind them, the softclickechoing too loudly in the entryway, and she heard the soft taps of his fingers on his app as he armed the security system. She shrugged off her coat and draped it over the back of the couch, then just stood there, letting the stillness press in.
It was near midnight.
